Jack Christopher, Echo Zulu Favored in Breeders' Cup Juvenile Dirt Stakes

Nov 03, 2021 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

The New York shippers Jack Christopher and Echo Zulu are the
respective morning line favorites for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Del Mar on Friday.

Besides the championship implications, the Juvenile and Juvenile Fillies both
serve as the most point-lucrative preps of the year in the 2022 Road to the
Kentucky Derby and 2022 Road to the Kentucky Oaks series. Each race will award
their respective top four finishers qualifying points of 20-8-4-2 toward next
year's Derby and Oaks.

Jack Christopher arguably has the most difficult task as he will have to beat
11 rivals, including three Bob Baffert trainees ineligible to earn any Derby
qualifying points. But the exciting son of Munnings has looked sensational so
far, kicking things off with an 8 3/4-length debut win at Saratoga in late
August. The Chad Brown trainee followed up with a 2 3/4-length tally in the
one-mile Champagne (G1) at Belmont Park over Commandperformance.

Brown won the last Juvenile contested at Del Mar with a maiden, Good Magic.
Commandperformance, the Champagne runner-up trained by Todd Pletcher,
ironically brings a profile similar to that of Good Magic. Although a maiden
himself after two starts, the gray is bred to thrive around two turns, being a
son of Union Rags and out of a Tapit mare.

The Baffert contingent is led by American Pharoah (G1) winner Corniche
and Del Mar Futurity (G1) scorer Pinehurst, both of whom are undefeated
after two starts and possess strong gate speed. Others in the lineup include
Breeders' Futurity (G1) runner-up Double Thunder and the American
Pharoah-placed Pappacap and Oviatt Class.

Only five rivals stand in the way of the Steve Asmussen-trained Echo Zulu in
the Juvenile Fillies, which, like the Juvenile, is run at 1 1/16 miles. A
daughter of Gun Runner, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Del Mar four
years ago, Echo Zulu is odds-on to win her fourth straight after dominating
victories in a maiden, the Spinaway (G1), and the Frizette (G1).

Spinaway runner-up Tarabi makes her first start since that Sept. 5
Saratoga feature, but the most serious challenge to Echo Zulu might come from
Hidden Connection, who's romped in both starts for trainer Bret Calhoun. The
most recent of these was a 9 1/4-length victory in the Pocahontas (G3) at
Churchill Downs.

Brad Cox also has a serious player in Juju's Map, who stepped up from
a maiden win at Ellis Park to take the Alcibiades (G1) at Keeneland by a
widening 4 1/4 lengths.

Post time for the Juvenile Fillies is 6:30 p.m. ET, with the Juvenile on tap
at 7:50 p.m. ET. Both races can be watched and wagered on at
TwinSpires.com.